In the 2014 NHL Entry Draft the New York Rangers selected seven players overall; the highest pick being Brandon Halverson, 59th overall. Among those seven players, and the second taken in the 4th round at 114th overall, was an 18-year-old goalie out of Spartak, Russia named Igor Shesterkin.
At the time, Shesterkin was just another goalie in the Rangers developing pipeline and he was considered the seventh-best European goalie in the Draft. So, after getting drafted, Shesterkin joined SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL as a backup, getting six games in his first pro season and putting up a respectable .